S 2981Violent Crime Penalties

Criminal Offenses - Computer Crime

Removes the requirement that harassment must be the "sole" purpose of a communication to qualify as cyberstalking.

Held for study

Population
Affected

Introduced Mar 4, 2026Committee Senate Judiciary

Plain-English Summary

This bill updates Rhode Island's computer crime laws regarding cyberstalking and cyberharassment. Currently, a person can only be convicted if their "sole" purpose in contacting someone electronically is to harass them. This legislation removes the word "sole" from the law. This means a person could be charged with cyberharassment if their intent is to harass, alarm, or annoy someone, even if there are other reasons for the communication mixed in. The bill maintains existing penalties, including fines and potential jail time, and keeps the definition of harassment as conduct causing substantial emotional distress.

For younger readers

This law is about stopping people from being bullies online or through text messages. Right now, the rules say a bully only gets in trouble if the "only" reason they sent a message was to be mean. This new bill changes that rule. Now, if someone sends messages to scare or upset another person on purpose, they can get in trouble even if they had other reasons for sending the message too. This makes it easier for the police to stop people who are using computers or phones to hurt others.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups

Victims of stalkingDomestic violence survivorsSocial media usersLaw enforcementCriminal defendants

Impacted communities

All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

Moderate risk

There is a moderate constitutional risk regarding the First Amendment. By removing the "sole purpose" requirement, the statute criminalizes speech where the intent is mixed. While the law explicitly excludes "constitutionally protected activity," the subjective nature of what "annoys" or "bothers," combined with a lower intent threshold, could lead to "overbreadth" challenges. Courts may need to determine if this chills protected speech, such as heated political debate or consumer complaints, that also intends to annoy the recipient.

Estimated cost

None

Estimated revenue

Amount unknown

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints

For Progressives

Closes a significant legal loophole that allowed abusers to evade prosecution by claiming they had a dual purpose (e.g., discussing child custody) while harassing victims.
Strengthens protections for victims of domestic violence and stalking, who are disproportionately women and marginalized individuals, by making the burden of proof for prosecution more realistic.
Acknowledges the complexity of modern digital abuse, ensuring that the law reflects the reality that harassment often occurs alongside other types of communication.
Lowers the threshold for criminal liability, which could potentially be used to penalize online activism or heated political speech if a prosecutor argues the intent was to "annoy."
Increases the power of the carceral system by expanding the definition of a crime, potentially leading to over-policing of interpersonal disputes.
May disproportionately affect individuals who lack the resources to legally defend against subjective claims of what constitutes "alarms, annoys, or bothers."

For Conservatives

Empowers law enforcement with stronger tools to prosecute offenders and maintain law and order in the digital space.
Enhances the protection of families and children from online predators and stalkers by removing technical defenses used by criminals.
Ensures that individuals cannot hide behind technicalities to escape consequences for malicious behavior, upholding the rule of law.
Broadens the definition of criminal speech, which could be weaponized by the government to target political opponents or silence dissent under the guise of "harassment."
Potentially infringes on First Amendment rights by criminalizing communications that may have legitimate purposes mixed with aggressive language.
Represents an expansion of government power into private interactions and communications between citizens.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 1 addition · 1 deletion

SECTION 1. Section 11-52-4.2 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-52 entitled "Computer Crime" is hereby amended to read as follows: 11-52-4.2. Cyberstalking and cyberharassment prohibited.

(a) Whoever transmits any communication by computer or other electronic device to any person or causes any person to be contacted for the ~~sole~~ purpose of harassing that person or his or her family is guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500), by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both. For the purpose of this section, “harassing” means any knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a specific person which seriously alarms, annoys, or bothers the person, and which serves no legitimate purpose. The course of conduct must be of a kind that would cause a reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional distress, or be in fear of bodily injury. “Course of conduct” means a pattern of conduct composed of a series of acts over a period of time, evidencing a continuity of purpose. Constitutionally protected activity is not included within the meaning of “course of conduct.”

(b) A second or subsequent conviction under subsection (a) of this section shall be deemed a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than two (2) years, by a fine of not more than six thousand dollars ($6,000), or both.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.